Wednesday 7 February marks the 26 year anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty, and therefore also the 26th anniversary of EU's ambition to promote cultural heritage.

26 years ago the Maastricht Treaty was signed by the EU. The treaty partly shaped the EU we know today. The treaty introduced EU's aims to ensure and safeguard cultural heritage within the union. The Maastricht Treaty states that cooperation between Member States should be encouraged and that support should be given to actions within the following areas:

improvement of the knowledge and dissemination of the culture and history of the European peoples

conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage of European significance